Method and apparatus providing omnibus view of online and offline content of various file types and sources

ABSTRACT

An online service provider (OSP) operates online data centers to store members&#39; data objects relating to various online member services of the OSP. An aggregated catalog lists members&#39; data objects residing in the online data centers and also those residing in member computers&#39; local storage. An aggregator monitors contents of the online storage facilities to detect new storage of prescribed types of data objects owned by the members, and also communicates with member computers to identify prescribed types of data objects newly stored in the respective local storage. The aggregator updates the aggregated catalog to list the newly stored data objects. Responsive to a request by a member, a finder searches the aggregated catalog and utilizes results of the search to provide, for display at the requesting member&#39;s computer, a consolidated listing of online data objects and locally stored data objects owned by the requesting member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/716,781, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS PROVIDING OMNIBUS VIEW OFONLINE AND OFFLINE CONTENT OF VARIOUS FILE TYPES AND SOURCES, filed onNov. 18, 2003 in the names of Fairchild et al. The '781 applicationclaims the benefit of one of more of the following earlier filedapplications in accordance with one or more of 35 USC 119, 120, 365:U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/426,807 entitled MULTICOMPONENTBRIDGE AND METHOD filed on Nov. 18, 2002 in the names of Rubin et al.The entirety of the foregoing applications are hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to computer-driven data managementsystems. More particularly, the invention concerns a method andapparatus for performing an omnibus search providing a consolidated viewof an online service subscriber's online and local data objects, and forconducting additional operations such as viewing, changing, and sharingthe data objects.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the advent of the “information superhighway” various onlineservices came into existence. These services provide tools for anincredible variety of functions for their users, which may be one-timeguest or long term subscribers. These online services enable users tosearch the worldwide web, store digital photographs online, read newsstories, send and receive e-mails, and well as many other tasks. Oneside effect of these many services is the explosion of data that somehowhas to be stored, organized, managed, and otherwise processed.

One of the leading Internet access and online content providers todayAMERICA ONLINE CORPORATION®, located at 770 Broadway, New York, N.Y.10003, (hereinafter referred to as “AOL®”). Although different onlinedata management systems already exist, and some may even enjoysignificant publicity and use today, AOL® engineers and softwaredesigners are continually seeking to improve the performance,efficiency, and functionality of such systems. In this spirit, one areaof possible focus concerns the difficulty that online users face inreconciling, managing, and comprehending the assortment of data objectsdispersed among various online and offline storage sites.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An online service provider (OSP) operates online data centers to storemembers' data objects relating to various online member services of theOSP. An aggregated catalog lists members' data objects residing in theonline data centers and also those residing in member computers' localstorage. An aggregator monitors contents of the online storagefacilities to detect new storage of prescribed types of data objectsowned by the members, and also communicates with member computers toidentify prescribed types of data objects newly stored in the respectivelocal storage. The aggregator updates the aggregated catalog to list thenewly stored data objects. Responsive to a request by a member, a findersearches the aggregated catalog and utilizes results of the search toprovide, for display at the requesting member's computer, a consolidatedlisting of online data objects and locally stored data objects owned bythe requesting member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the hardware components andinterconnections of a data management system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a digital data processing machine.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary storage medium.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an operational sequence of backgroundoperations for operating the data management system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an operational sequence of user operations, andnamely, utilizing the system of FIG. 1 to perform an omnibus searchproviding a consolidated view of an online service subscriber's onlineand local data objects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The nature, objectives, and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent to those skilled in the art after considering the followingdetailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Hardware Components & Interconnections

Introduction

One aspect of the invention concerns a data management system, which maybe embodied by various hardware components and interconnections, withone example being described by the system 100 of FIG. 1. The system 100includes various subcomponents, each of which may be implemented by oneor more hardware devices, software devices, a portion of one or morehardware or software devices, or a combination of the foregoing. Themakeup of these subcomponents is described in greater detail below, withreference to an exemplary digital data processing apparatus, logiccircuit, and storage medium.

An online facility 111, whose construction and functionality isdescribed below, is maintained and operated by an online serviceprovider (OSP). The facility 111 is accessed by various members thatsubscribe to online services. More specifically, the online facility 111of the present example is accessed by member computer 102, anothermember device 106, and one or more third party devices 104.

Devices that Access Online Facility

The member computer 102 comprises a PC, Mac, notebook computer, computerworkstation, or other digital data processor of a given user (“member”)that participates in services offered by the OSP. The device 106represents a different device of the same member, such as another PC,Mac, notebook computer, computer workstation, or the like, or adifferent type of device such as a personal data assistant (PDA),web-enabled wireless phone, etc. The third party devices 104 alsocomprise devices such as 102 and/or 106, but they are operated bysomebody other than the member 102.

The computer 102 includes a local operating system (OS) 102 a, localstorage 102 b, and local interface software 102 c. The local OS 102 acomprises an operating system such as Windows®, Unix®, Linux, Mac OS,etc. The interface software 102 c comprises an interface between thelocal OS 102 a and the online finder 109.

The local storage 102 b comprises magnetic hard disk storage, opticalstorage, circuit memory, or another suitable media, format, or mechanismfor storing digital data. Local storage 102 b contains various data,some related to services of the OSP and the present disclosure, andother unrelated data. As for the data related to the present disclosure,these comprise various data objects of prescribed types that arerelevant to the operation of the aggregator 108 and finder 109. Althoughthe prescribed types of data object are explained in detail below, someexamples include digital photographs, sent/received e-mails and anyrelated e-mail attachments, digital music, videos, and the like. Thesedata objects are presumed to be “owned” by the member since they arepresent in the member's local storage.

The computer 102 also includes local software 102 c for interfacing withan online finder (109) described below. As discussed below, the software102 c works with the local OS 102 a and finder 109 to present an omnibusview of all the member's data objects, whether online or local. In oneexample, the software 102 c may be implemented as a plug-in to themember's web browser component of the local OS 102 a (such as MSInternet Explorer®) or a plug-in to the member's disk managementsoftware (such as MS Windows Explorer®).

Link to Online Facility

The components 102, 104, 106 are coupled to the online facility 111 byone or more links 110. Such coupling may be “always one”, for exampleDSL or cable, or it may occur at selected times, for example by dial-uptelephone access. The links 110 may comprise wired communications links,wireless links, satellite, telephone lines, DSL lines, cableconnections, public Internet, private Intranet, Ethernet cards, wide orlocal area networks, or any other arrangement suitable for the purposesdescribed herein. The link 110 includes appropriate equipment tomodulate/demodulate, encode/decode, multiplex, and perform otherprocessing to connect many users to the online facility 111.

Online Storage

The online facility 111 includes an aggregator 108, finder 109, andonline storage 112. The storage 112 comprises digital data storage,which may utilize similar storage media (for example) as the localstorage 102 b (discussed above). The online storage 112 contains anaggregated catalog 112 a and a number of online data centers 112 b-112f. The data centers 112 b-112 f comprises repositories for storingvarious data objects related to members' participation in differentonline services offered by the OSP. These data objects may be of thesame type (e.g., photographs, e-mails, videos, etc.) as those in localstorage 102 b, or of different types, or a mix. The various units 112b-112 f of online storage may comprise geographically, physically,and/or functionally separate entities that are normally not associatedwith each other, other than being separately offered by the OSP to itsmembers. For instance, one data center 112 b may comprise a server (orother storage facility) that manages members' e-mails, whereas anotherdata center 112 c comprises a server that hosts members' photographs,and another data center 112 d comprises a server that stores membersvideos. Depending upon the implementation details, multiple data centers112 b-112 f may optionally comprise physical or logical devices,registers, address ranges, devices, disk surfaces, or other subcomponentof the same storage device. As one specific example, the data centers112 b-112 f may be implemented using the existing storage architecturethat AOL utilizes to serve its members.

The aggregated catalog 112 a contains (1) metadata concerning prescribedtypes of data object that are stored in the disparate data centers 112b-112 f and owned by the members, and also (2) metadata concerning theprescribed types of data objects locally stored (102 b) by the members.Some examples of the prescribed “types” of metadata may include digitalphotographs, e-mails sent and/or received, e-mail attachments sendand/or received, financial portfolio information, alerts & reminders,calendar information, favorites, personal filing cabinet contents,address book, instant messenger data, message board contents, music,videos, etc. A data object is “owned” by members, for example, when themember has access to the data object and the ability to delete, change,or otherwise manipulate the data object.

The metadata 112 a includes some categories of information that apply toall data objects types, such as filename, file type, author, storagelocation, size, creation date, member-supplied captions or comments,keywords, etc. The metadata also includes other information specific toparticular data object types, such as image size/resolution for images,to/from and other mail-related fields for e-mails, etc. The catalog 112may be implemented by (some or all of) one or more of the followingstructures: a table, list, file, collection of files, physical storagedevice, relational database, linked list, etc.

Aggregator

The aggregator 108 comprises software, hardware, firmware, applicationspecific integrated circuits, logic circuitry, or any otherinstrumentality for carrying out the aggregator functionality describedbelow. Broadly, the aggregator 108 prepares, updates, and maintains thecatalog 112 a so that its metadata accurately reflects the data objectsresiding in the data centers 112 b-112 f and local storage 102 b. Theaggregator also oversees sharing of any data objects from 112 b-112 f or102 b to third party devices 104. To achieve greater speed, theaggregator 108 may be implemented by a number of processors, softwarethreads, or other units working together.

Finder

The finder 109 comprises software, hardware, firmware, applicationspecific integrated circuits, logic circuitry, or any otherinstrumentality for carrying out the finder functionality describedbelow. Broadly, the finder 109 works under member direction to providethe member computer 102 with an omnibus view of all the member's dataobjects, whether online or offline.

In addition to the online finder 109 as illustrated (or as analternative), there may be local finders such as a finder (not shown)installed locally at the member computer 102. In this case, the localcomputer may optionally include a local version of the aggregatedcatalog 112 a to speed operation of the local finder. The online andlocal catalogs may be synchronized as needed by the aggregator 108,local finder, online finder 109, or other suitable component.

Exemplary Digital Data Processing Apparatus

As mentioned above, data processing entities such as the finder 109,aggregator 108, and the like may be implemented in various forms. Oneexample is a digital data processing apparatus, as exemplified by thehardware components and interconnections of the digital data processingapparatus 200 of FIG. 2.

The apparatus 200 includes a processor 202, such as a microprocessor,personal computer, workstation, controller, microcontroller, statemachine, or other processing machine, coupled to a storage 204. In thepresent example, the storage 204 includes a fast-access storage 206, aswell as nonvolatile storage 208. The fast-access storage 206 maycomprise random access memory (“RAM”), and may be used to store theprogramming instructions executed by the processor 202. The nonvolatilestorage 208 may comprise, for example, battery backup RAM, EEPROM, flashPROM, one or more magnetic data storage disks such as a “hard drive”, atape drive, or any other suitable storage device. The apparatus 200 alsoincludes an input/output 210, such as a line, bus, cable,electromagnetic link, or other means for the processor 202 to exchangedata with other hardware external to the apparatus 200.

Despite the specific foregoing description, ordinarily skilled artisans(having the benefit of this disclosure) will recognize that theapparatus discussed above may be implemented in a machine of differentconstruction, without departing from the scope of the invention. As aspecific example, one of the components 206, 208 may be eliminated;furthermore, the storage 204, 206, and/or 208 may be provided on-boardthe processor 202, or even provided externally to the apparatus 200.

Logic Circuitry

In contrast to the digital data processing apparatus discussed above, adifferent embodiment of the invention uses logic circuitry instead ofcomputer-executed instructions to implement some or all of theprocessing entities in the system 100. Depending upon the particularrequirements of the application in the areas of speed, expense, toolingcosts, and the like, this logic may be implemented by constructing anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having thousands of tinyintegrated transistors. Such an ASIC may be implemented with CMOS, TTL,VLSI, or another suitable construction. Other alternatives include adigital signal processing chip (DSP), discrete circuitry (such asresistors, capacitors, diodes, inductors, and transistors), fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic array (PLA),programmable logic device (PLD), and the like.

Operation

Having described the structural features of the present invention, theoperational aspect of the present invention will now be described.

Storage Media

Wherever the functionality of a component of this disclosure isimplemented using one or more machine-executed program sequences, thesesequences may be embodied in various forms of storage media. In thecontext of FIG. 2, such a storage media may comprise, for example, thestorage 204 or another storage media, such as a magnetic data storagediskette 300 (FIG. 3), directly or indirectly accessible by a processor202. Whether contained in the storage 206, diskette 300, or elsewhere,the instructions may be stored on a variety of machine-readable datastorage media. Some examples include direct access storage (e.g., aconventional “hard drive”, redundant array of inexpensive disks(“RAID”), or another direct access storage device (“DASD”)),serial-access storage such as magnetic or optical tape, electronicnon-volatile memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, flash PROM, or EEPROM), batterybackup RAM, optical storage (e.g., CD-ROM, WORM, DVD, digital opticaltape), paper “punch” cards, or other suitable storage media includinganalog or digital transmission media and analog and communication linksand wireless communications. In an illustrative embodiment of theinvention, the machine-readable instructions may comprise softwareobject code, compiled from a language such as assembly language, C, etc.

Logic Circuitry

In contrast to the storage medium discussed above, some or all of acomponent's functionality may be implemented using logic circuitry,instead of using a processor to execute instructions. Such logiccircuitry is therefore configured to perform operations to carry out themethod of the invention. The logic circuitry may be implemented usingmany different types of circuitry, as discussed above.

Background Operations

FIG. 4 shows a sequence 400 of background operations, which broadlyserve to maintain the aggregated catalog 112 a according to memberactivity. For ease of illustration, without any intended limitation, theexample of FIG. 4 is described in the context of the system 100described above. Also, for ease of discussion, the example of FIG. 4 isexplained in the context of a single exemplary member (the “subject”member).

The steps 400 are initiated in step 402, which occurs some time afterthe subject member subscribes, signs up, registers, or otherwise enrollsin the OSP's services. In step 402, the facility 111 begins to populatethe data centers 112 b-112 f with various content related to themember's online activities. Some examples of step 402 include the memberreceiving e-mails, uploading photographs, sending/receiving e-mailattachments, and other activities that all involve storing data objectsfor the member in 112 b-112 f.

In step 404, the aggregator 108 monitors activity in the data centers112 b-112 f related to the subject member. This is conducted in order toidentify newly arriving data objects that are (1) of the prescribedtypes tracked by the catalog 112 a, and (2) owned by the member. “Newlyarriving” means that the data objects are not yet shown in the metadata112 a. In one example, this may be conducted by the aggregator 108reviewing the storage 112 b-112 f (or metadata listings of the storage)to identify newly arriving data objects of the member that have not beenlogged into the catalog 112 a. This task may be conducted repeatedlyaccording to a periodic, non-periodic, or other schedule. In addition toreviewing the storage 112 b-112 f itself, step 404 may additionallyinclude the aggregator 108 monitoring online activity of the member (forexample, in “real time”) to determine when any of the member's activityhas created or updated any stored data objects in the data centers 112b-112 f. In both of the previous examples, the aggregator 108 updatesthe catalog 112 a (step 406) to reflect the newly identified dataobjects (if any).

Step 408 occurs whenever the member computer 102 is connected to theonline facility 111, that is, whenever the member is online. Here, theaggregator 108 communicates with the member computer 102 to gatherinformation concerning the contents of the local storage 102 b, toidentify any data objects that (1) have one of the prescribed typestracked by the catalog 112 a, and (2) are “new” in the sense that theydo not appear in the catalog 112 a yet. In one example, step 408 isperformed by the local interface 102 c scanning the local storage 102 b(while online or offline) and providing the aggregator 108 with acorresponding report (while online). The interface 102 c may send thisreport automatically or upon request from the aggregator 108. In anotherexample, the interface 102 c works online and offline to continuallytrack the data objects added to 102 b since last reporting to theaggregator 108, and therefore limits the report of step 408 to thesedata objects. In step 410, the aggregator 108 updates the aggregatedcatalog 112 a to reflect the updates reported in step 408.

User Operations

FIG. 5 shows a sequence 500 of user operations which are made possibleby the aggregated catalog 112 a that is prepared and maintained asdiscussed above. For ease of illustration, without any intendedlimitation, the example of FIG. 5 is described in the context of thesystem 100 described above. Also, for ease of discussion, the example ofFIG. 5 is explained in the context of a single exemplary member.Furthermore, as ordinarily skilled artisans (having the benefit of thisdisclosure) will be familiar with techniques for user authentication,the details of such procedures are omitted for the sake of brevity,although it is understood that preceding step 502 the online facility111 requires such authentication as a condition to permitting the memberto engage in the steps 502-510.

Step 502 is initiated in response to the member's request to view anomnibus listing of the member's data objects, this request beingsubmitted to the finder 109 while the member computer 102 is connectedto the online facility 111. As a more particular example, step 502 maybe initiated by the member's invocation of a browser feature of thelocal OS 102 a, a desktop icon, menu entry, or other user selectablecontrol which, in turn, forwards the member's request to the finder 109.The browser of the local OS 102 a also receives any user instructions toinitially or subsequently narrow the search according to data objects'date, author, size, keywords (discussed below), file type, or any othermetadata field. The interface 102 c passes the request along with anyrefinements to the finder 109.

In response to the member request, the finder 109 returns a consolidatedlisting of the member's data objects for display at the member computer102. The listing is consolidated because it includes data objectswhether located in online storage or local storage. This listing isobtained by the finder 109 searching the aggregated catalog 112 a forentries corresponding to the current member. The listing as presented atthe computer 102 may show data objects by graphics, text, imagethumbnails, icons, or any useful presentation.

Optionally during step 502, the finder 109 and/or interface 102 c mayprovide more detailed, context appropriate views responsive to memberactions. For example, when e-mail is selected, AOL MAIL or anothercontext appropriate view may be supplied. Similarly, when photographsare selected, YOU′VE GOT PICTURES or another context appropriate viewmay be given.

While the consolidated listing is being displayed (starting in step502), step 503 gives the member an opportunity to change certainmetadata pertaining to the listed data objects. Namely, the display oflisted data objects includes graphics, icons, text, menus, or othercontrols permitting the user to enter/change one or more keywords inassociation with each listed data object. The interface 102 c sensesuser entry of such keywords, and transmits them to the finder 109, whichstores the new keywords (with links to the respective data objects) inthe aggregated catalog 112 a.

During presentation of the consolidated listing in step 502, an “activesynch” operation 502 a is also performed. Namely, during display of theconsolidated listing at the member's computer, the finder 109 updatesthe display in real time to include any data objects that are firstlogged into the catalog 112 a while the member's search window is open.

After the consolidated listing is initially displayed in step 502, andrefined and redisplayed as desired, the finder 109 and/or interface 102c responds to any user requests to activate further processing of anyspecific data objects identified by the listing (step 504). In oneembodiment, the consolidated listing includes a member-activated VIEWfeature. In response to member activation of this feature for any one ofthe listed data objects (step 504 a), the interface 102 c activateslocal software (appropriate for the data object's particular file type)to view the data object. In a different embodiment, the finder 109activates online software to view the data object. In the case of adigital photograph, for instance, the interface 102 c or finder 109 mayinvoke MS Internet Explorer or another program.

Optionally, the consolidated listing may include a member-activatedCHANGE feature. In response to user activation of this feature for thedata object being viewed (step 504 b), or any other listed data objects,the finder 109 or interface 102 c activates local or online software(appropriate to the data object's particular file type) to manipulatethe data object. In the case of a MS Word document, for instance, thefinder 109 or finder 109 may activate the MS Word program.

The consolidated listing may also include a member-activated SHAREfeature. In response to user activation of this feature for the dataobject being viewed (step 504 c), or any other listed data objects, thefinder 109 or interface 102 c calls upon the aggregator 108 to e-mailthe data object to a designated transferee, post the data object forviewing by the transferee, etc. The transferee may comprise anotherdevice 106 of the member, or even a third party 104. In one example,rather than actually copying and sending the data object, the aggregator108 may provide the transferee with a link or pointer to the existinginstance of the data objects in 112 b-112 f. One example of this ismember placement of a particular data object into a “share” folder, towhich any transferees are notified either automatically by the onlinefacility 111 or manually by the member.

When the member is finished reviewing the data object listing of step502, and conducting any desired follow-up viewing, manipulating, andtransferring, the member closes the listing (step 510). As an example,the member may select an appropriate graphics or text option to closethe browser of the local OS 102 a.

Other Embodiments

While the foregoing disclosure shows a number of illustrativeembodiments of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that various changes and modifications can be made hereinwithout departing from the scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims. Furthermore, although elements of the invention may bedescribed or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unlesslimitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Additionally,ordinarily skilled artisans will recognize that operational sequencesmust be set forth in some specific order for the purpose of explanationand claiming, but the present invention contemplates various changesbeyond such specific order.

In addition, those of ordinary skill in the relevant art will understandthat information and signals may be represented using a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, any data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsreferenced herein may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, other items, or a combination of the foregoing.

Moreover, ordinarily skilled artisans will appreciate that anyillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and process stepsdescribed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computersoftware, or combinations of both. To illustrate one exemplaryembodiment, various functional aspects of the invention have beendescribed in terms of illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuit,and steps. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware,software, or both depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application without such implementation decisions departingfrom the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for operating anonline service facility selectively accessed by multiple end-usercomputers, the online service facility including a plurality of onlinedata centers operated by an online service provider (OSP) to storeend-users' data objects relating to a variety of online services thatthe OSP renders to its end-users, the method comprising operations of:providing an aggregated catalog that contains information including: (1)metadata identifying end-users' data objects residing in the online datacenters, and (2) metadata identifying end-users' data objects residingin respective end-user computers; detecting new storage objects in theonline data centers comprising newly arriving prescribed types of dataobjects owned by the end-users, wherein new storage objects are not yetshown in the metadata, and wherein the detecting operation is carriedout by monitoring communications conducted between end-users and theonline service facility in real time; communicating with the end-usercomputers to identify prescribed types of data objects newly stored inthe end-user computers; updating the aggregated catalog to list thenewly stored data objects from the online data centers and the newlystored data objects from end-user computers; and responsive to eachrequest by an end-user, searching the aggregated catalog and utilizingresults of the search to provide an output for display at the requestingend-user's computer, the output comprising a consolidated listing ofdata objects of the end-user residing in the online data centers anddata objects of the end-user residing in the end user's computer,wherein the consolidated listing includes an end-user-activatable VIEWfeature; and wherein the operations further comprise, responsive to agiven end-user's activation of the VIEW feature in conjunction with aparticular one of the listed data objects, activating software topresent contents of the particular data object to the given end-user. 2.The method of claim 1, where the operations further comprise: duringdisplay of the consolidated listing at the requesting end-user'scomputer, updating the display substantially in real time to reflect anydata objects that are of prescribed types, owned by the requestingend-user, and newly stored in the online data center during the display.3. The method of claim 1, where the detecting operation is carried outby at least one of the following operations: communicating with the datacenters to identify data objects contained therein; and monitoringcommunications conducted between end-users and the online servicefacility.
 4. Data management equipment in an online service facilityselectively accessed by multiple end-user computers, the online servicefacility including a plurality of online data centers operated by anonline service provider (OSP) to store end-users' data objects relatingto a variety of online services that the OSP renders to its end-users,the equipment comprising: a processor; a memory device; aggregatedcatalog means for storing information including: (1) metadataidentifying end-users' data objects residing in the online data centers,and (2) metadata identifying end-users' data objects residing inrespective end-user computers; aggregator means for: detecting newstorage objects in the online data centers comprising newly arrivingprescribed types of data objects owned by the end-users, wherein newstorage objects are not yet shown in the metadata, and wherein thedetecting operation is carried out by monitoring communicationsconducted between end-users and the online service facility in realtime; communicating with the end-user computers to identify prescribedtypes of data objects newly stored in the end-user computers; updatingthe aggregated catalog to list to include metadata identifying the newlystored data objects contained in the online data centers and the newlystored data objects from the end-user computers; and finder means for,responsive to each request by an end-user, searching the aggregatedcatalog means and utilizing results of the search to provide an outputfor display at the requesting end-user's computer, the output comprisinga consolidated listing of data objects of the end-user residing in theonline data centers and data objects of the end-user residing in the enduser's computer, wherein the consolidated listing includes anend-user-activatable VIEW feature; and wherein the operations furthercomprise, responsive to a given end-user's activation of the VIEWfeature in conjunction with a particular one of the listed data objects,activating software to present contents of the particular data object tothe given end-user.